No. 1 Chartiers Valley girls rout Montour

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, December 17, 2018 | 10:45 PM

The Chartiers Valley Colts do not seem to have trouble scoring points.

And they can do it myriad ways.

Four different players reached double figures Monday as the Colts, ranked first among WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball teams, routed visiting Montour, 73-34, at Chartiers Valley High School.

“I love it,” said CV coach Tim McConnell, who is in his first year as the girls’ coach after 25 years of coaching the CV boys. “There are some nights where someone has a really good night, there’s going to be others where it’s going to be a team effort. … Tonight, everyone was sharing the ball.”

Megan McConnell and Aislin Malcolm each scored 16 points, Gabi Legistor added 14 and Mackenzie Wagner chipped in 13 as CV (4-0, 2-0 Section 1-5A) stayed unbeaten.

Montour slipped to 2-2 and 0-2 on the young season.

“I think we all know how to work together, so it really helps us become one,” Wagner said.

It was Wagner’s hot hand at the end of the opening quarter that helped the Colts turn the game into a rout. The senior hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final 1:05 of the first quarter to open up a 21-11 lead after eight minutes.

“I thought defensively we were out of position a few times, and we didn’t get to where we wanted to be (in the first quarter),” McConnell said. “They hit some shots and took advantage of it. I thought we made some good adjustments and then we started hitting shots, and I thought that’s when our separation took place.”

The Colts then opened the second quarter on a 24-2 run to take a 48-18 lead into intermission.

While Montour broke CV’s full-court press several times, the Spartans also turned the ball over a number times that resulted in transition points for the Colts. McConnell called off the press halfway through the second quarter.

“We knew they would break (the press), but we wanted (to play) uptempo a little bit more and not let them walk up the floor and be comfortable,” McConnell said. “When you’re all over the place you’re going to give up some easy shots and easy baskets, but hopefully it’s going to benefit you in the long run and get the other team a little more tired than we were.”

Wagner and Malcom each had a trio of 3-pointers, and Megan McConnell had two more as CV connected for eight treys in the first half.

That helped open up the inside for 6-foot-2 post Gabi Legister, who is back after missing last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

“She’s really impacted us and stepped up this year,” Wagner said of Legister. “I think tearing her ACL has really made her realize how good she can be, and she has really helped us a lot.”

CV’s lead reached 40 points in the second half, and McConnell rested his starters for the final 11-plus minutes.

Courtney Tomas had 13 points to lead Montour.

Jesse Geleynse is a freelance writer.

Tags: Chartiers Valley, Montour